Ways to make $ during graduate school?

I am currently in a full-time Masters program for Education. It is a 2-year program and I am starting my second year.

Last year, I was able to get a part-time graduate assistant position that paid a stipend and a good portion of my tuition. It was a perfect situation! However, funding in our department was cut and all of these positions were eliminated for the upcoming year.

Now I am trying to find a way to work during my second year. Although my husband’s salary can pay for most of our living expenses, extra money would REALLY help. Even if it was just enough for gas/groceries every month. However, my schedule is really hurting my chances of finding a job. I have to complete an internship that is 20 hours per week (during the school day) and also have classes two nights per week from 5-7. I have looked into providing afterschool care for children, but have not found a position that would work with my class schedule.

Any creative ways to make $ while in graduate school? How did you make it work financially?

I was in the same boat…our student positions were cut. I worked at the YMCA doing the teen drop-in center. By the end of grad school I could only do one drop-in a week for about 3hrs but they still kept me on and it was nice to have something coming in.

@gingerspice: I’m not sure where you are from but you can look into donating plasma. I think you can do it a couple times a week and they usually pay around 20-30 dollars. It’s like giving blood but they separate the plasma from it so you can do it more often than giving blood.

This isn’t ideal, and you might not even want to consider it depending on your schedule, how much you get to see your husband, etc…but you could try to pick up a serving shift or two on weekends. Depending on the restaurant, you might be able to make really good money. I know this doesn’t help with your career (some of the other options you discussed are clearly more related to education!) but if your goal is just to make some extra cash, it could be an option to look into.

@icetea: Thanks! Right now I feel like I’ve been applying for several jobs but nothing has worked out. Several of these jobs mentioned that I was the perfect candidate but were not willing to be flexible with my schedule. Twice I’ve been told that they would hire me but didn’t since I am graduating next year (and will be looking for a full-tim job).

I’m really frustrated and discouraged! My husband has been really supportive, but I really feel the need to contribute financially. I don’t think it would be fair to ask him to cover all of our living expenses (not to mention tuition) for the next year.

See if you can tutor undergrads. My grad school had a system where the athletes got tutoring and it paid $25/hr to tutors. Individual departments also sometimes pay for tutors and often pay more but that is usually for hard sciences and economics/math…I know you’re in Ed but if you feel ok tutoring a freshman level course in math/econ/science you can probably pick up good money that way. Also, see if there is a “writing center” or something equivalent, those often pay grad students to act as tutors–maybe even the career center, my undergrad paid students to teach how to write great cover letters, resumes, and statements for applying to grad school.

Another option is just hang some flyers offering tutoring for X Y Z subjects.

@gingerspice: You can try tutoring. Depending on the subject/area you’re in, you can make $40-$70/hr. It’s a lot of money for not a huge time commitment.

Just saw that PP suggested tutoring undergrads. You could also tutor local kids (elementary, middle, or high school) depending on what subjects you’re good at. Anything from reading, writing, SAT help, college essays, etc. You’re able to get more money doing that on your own instead of through tutoring centers.

@beemyname: Yes, I have asked the dept secretary. My supervisor from my former position is really nice and has promised to let me know if any jobs come available. No luck so far!

@Magpie86: Yeah, soon I’ll start applying for weekend jobs as a server or in retail. However, with my schedule usually the weekends are the only time that I can spend time with my DH. I also have out-of-town family that we freqeuntly visit on the weekends. It may be better to have a job though.

@gingerspice: It’s completely understandable that you might not want to do this….I think it’s a matter of balancing out what’s going to give you better quality of life. Will you and your husband be happier having the extra income this year, but maybe not getting too spend as much time together/time with friends and family? Or would you rather have that time freed up, but maybe have to be more careful with money/not get to save as much this year?

I know what I would pick, but I don’t think there’s a universally “correct answer.” Of course the ideal thing would be if you could do something like tutoring or an after-school program that wouldn’t wreak as much havoc on your personal life time. Fingers crossed for you, good luck either way!

When I was finishing my postgrad program I got hired in Februrary for an unpaid internship in Spain, which was to begin in June. So I had 4 months to make enough money to live on in Europe for half a year!

I ended up doing 3 jobs while I was finishing school – I hosted at a restaurant, taught a French course at a company downtown, and I did some telemarketing. It was a very…character-building 6 months. 😛 When I came home I was dirt poor, so I was working two jobs at one point – I did retail (beauty department of a high end drugstore) in addition to my day job.

I think the restaurant and retail industries probably are the most flexible because you tell them when you can work. Sometimes managers may not be cooperative, but you’ll figure it out. It’s not the best work but whatever pays the bills (plus it’s only temporary), right? 🙂

I’m not sure if your program will let you do this, but mine did. I’m getting my Masters in Education as well. We were told if we got a job in a school (either as a paraprofessional or as a teacher) our work hours would count towards our internship required hours. Is this a possibility for you? To either start teaching with a non-renewable license or to look for parapro jobs?

The other thing I did the first year was tutor after school. I tutored two kids every single day and then had another client I went to 3-4 days per week (except on class days). I also tutored for the SAT/ACT through the high school, and still do.

Another thing I did which was unrelated was I ran the social media for a small business. I got paid $500 per month to run their website/blog, facebook and twitter pages. I did it mostly on the weekends and would schedule posts to go live during the week so it remained a constant presence. To get this job I advertised my technology skills and it worked. 🙂

@lealorali: Haha…. I’m not that desperate. Yet! We’ll see what happens =)

@Magpie86: It’s all a balancing act. While I would love to make money, I also have decided that I am not going to kill myself trying. Luckily my husband is VERY supportive and has put zero pressure on me to find a job. He says that he is fine with whatever I choose. I just feel like I should be contributing SOMETHING.

@AmeliaBedelia: I won’t be certified until I graduate in May, so it would be difficult to find a job in a school. I would love to tutor! I’m not sure how to go about finding clients though. Did you advertise? Or was it through a campus organization?